Computer keyboard usage is well-known to be a cause of repetitive strain injury, and notebook computers are notorious for inferior ergonomic design, due to attempts to reduce size and weight. Some patents attempt to address these issues, including U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,615 to Sellers (“Sellers”); U.S. Pat. No. 5,764,474 to Youens (“Youens”); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,762,931 to Chen (“Chen”), which disclose tilting keyboards and are incorporated by reference as teachings of prior art. Unfortunately, the paradigm for these solutions is modeled after desktop keyboards, which tilt in a positive direction, i.e., the portion of the keyboard furthest from the user is higher than the portion of the keyboard closest to the user. This arrangement requires the user to bend his or her wrists backward, which fatigues muscles in the top of the forearm and hand, leading to discomfort, and sometimes, injury. This harmful design is a legacy of mechanical typewriters, and is perpetuated primarily by user familiarity.
Another issue with notebook computers is their propensity to overheat, and in some situations, actually ignite fires. This results primarily from space-saving measures by manufacturers attempting to produce compact devices. Unfortunately, such designs place heat generating components in confined spaces, without adequate airflow. Vents are typically small, restricting the flow rate. Larger vents, which could ease overheating problems, are typically not used, due to their vulnerability to moisture and debris, and their demands on valuable surface area. These problems are severe enough to create a need for aftermarket cooling accessories, such as the notebook computer cooling rack disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,239,971 to Yu et al. (“Yu”), which is incorporated by reference as a teaching of prior art. However, these external cooling devices must be carried and powered, placing additional burdens on the user when the notebook computer is used in a mobile fashion, such as when riding on an airplane, a train, or a motorcycle.